K12 Training Award

The Harvard Catalyst K12 Training Award provides two years of salary support at 75% of the awardee’s institutional salary base, up to the K12 NIH salary cap of $160,000 (i.e., $120,000 would be covered). Surgeons may request salary support of between 50% and 75%. Funding for awardees begins October 1, 2025.

The K12 Training Award program provides advanced training in clinical and translational research to fellows who will transition to faculty by October 1, 2025, and early-career faculty from all health professions, including medicine, dentistry, and nursing.

Awardees will pursue a mentored research project in their area of expertise, and it is expected that the research performed within the K12 Training Award program will provide the basis for a subsequent NIH award (e.g., K23, K08, or R01).

The K12 Training Award program will help scholars to advance their clinical and translational (c/t) research, overseen by a primary mentor (and an optional co-mentor) and further enhanced by a dedicated Mentorship Advisory Committee, which will be formed once the award period has commenced. Each awardee will work with their mentor to develop and execute a work plan for their research project. Mentors must be accomplished investigators in clinical and translational research and have a track record of success in training new investigators and fostering their success as independent, NIH-funded, researchers.

Training will include courses, programs, and the monthly mandatory Translate Together group meetings. These courses and programs will cover the broad translational spectrum and will focus on developing innovative solutions that improve human health. The program also offers individualized career development plans, leadership training, visibility through participation in the national CTSA Visiting Scholar Program, and mentor / mentee training, to ensure the success of each scholar as a translational scientist, as envisioned by NCATS.

The K12 Training Award program requires a significant time commitment and dedication, including, for example, mandatory monthly meetings, participation in the Mentor Advisory Committee process (for first-year awardees), and periodic one-on-one meetings with the program PI. Awardees are expected to meet these requirements if selected for funding. Mentors are expected to participate in mentorship training if they have not completed a formal training program in the past.

We encourage applicants from all health disciplines who meet the following criteria:

• Must be a U.S. citizen, or permanent resident holding a green card by the application deadline of March 21, 2025 (those with other visa status are not eligible to apply due to NIH rules for this grant mechanism).
• Must have a doctoral degree.
• As this award is intended for Harvard researchers, applicants must already hold, or be guaranteed, a full-time position at Harvard / a Harvard-affiliated institution by the award start date of October 1, 2025.
• Additionally, applicants must either have a full-time faculty appointment (at either HMS or HSPH) or must be guaranteed a faculty position within the first 12 months of the award period.
  • Applicants who do not yet have a current faculty appointment may still apply but will be asked to provide written verification of their pending faculty appointment with a start date no later than September 30, 2026. (Please note that this pending appointment must be irrespective of the outcome of the application.)
  • Applicants with a current faculty appointment must be within the first three years of their appointment. The three-year limit will include appointments at all previous and current institutions. If the third year of your first faculty appointment ends on or before September 30, 2025, your application will not be considered.
  • For the purposes of this application, time spent on leave (personal, parental, medical, etc.) does not count as part of an appointment period. If you believe this circumstance may be relevant to your application, please e-mail us for guidance and instructions.
• Must be able to commit 75% of professional effort to the program, except for surgeons, who may be eligible to commit as little as 50% of time.
• Must ensure that the remaining salary support (not provided by the K12 grant) will come from a non-federal source.
• Must not be or have been a principal investigator on an NIH R01, or a project leader on a subproject of a Program Project (P01), Center (P50, P60, U54), mentored career development grant (K23, K08, K01, etc.), or equivalent non-PHS peer-reviewed research grants that are more than $100,000 in direct costs per year.
• At the time this application is submitted and under review (from April 7 to the end of May) must not have a current application for another mentored K award (e.g., K23, K08) submitted, or under review. For further clarification, please see the NIH website.
• Must be pursuing a career path in c/t research.
• Must propose a c/t research project.

Two years. Specifically, from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2027.

RFA Announcement: January 30, 2025

Applications Due: March 21, 2025 (6:00pm EST)

Endorsements Due: April 4, 2025 (6:00pm EST)

Review Process: April 7 through Mid-May 2025

Funding Decisions Announced: Late May, 2025

Funding Start Date: October 1, 2025

The K12 Training Award application is open.

The application includes the following components:

1. Applicant Information
2. NIH Biosketch
3. Statement (Letter) of Intent
4. Research Proposal
5. Endorsement Information
6. Division Chief/Department Attestation
7. Primary Mentor Letter
8. Secondary Mentor Letter (Optional)

Applicants will be asked to provide the following information:

• Full Name
• Project Title
• Email Address
• Degree(s)
• Research Interests
• Position / Rank
• Citizenship Status
• Demographic Information
• Primary Institution and Department
• Work Contact Information

Applicants will be asked to provide a Biographical Sketch (also referred to as a biosketch) utilizing the most recent NIH format (non-fellowship biosketch).

Please save a PDF copy of your completed file as follows: LastName_Biosketch.

You will be asked to upload your completed file as part of your online application. Please have the completed file ready when you begin the application process.

Applicants will be asked to submit a Statement (or Letter) of Intent (SOI), signed by the applicant’s institutional official.

Please work with your department’s grants manager, or administrative official, to submit the application materials for an internal review. After your internal review is completed (please plan accordingly and allow sufficient time for this process to take place), you will be provided with the signed form.

When completing your Statement of Intent (SOI), you may include the following details:

Period of Performance: 2 years (10/1/2025 through 9/30/2027)

Prime Site: Harvard Medical School (HMS)

Prime PI: Karen K. Miller, MD

Direct Cost Total per Year:

• 75% of Salary Base up to the NIH Cap of $160,000 (i.e., 75% of up to $160,000, a maximum of $120,000 per year)
• Applicable Fringe Benefits
• Indirect costs (or F&A) of 8%
• $10,000 in Research Support

Save a PDF copy of the completed SOI form as follows: LastName_SOI.

You will be asked to upload the file as part of your online application. Please have the completed file ready when you begin the application process.

Applicants will be asked to provide the information detailed in Sections A through G below and should download and utilize the template document “Research Proposal” [Word document].

Section A: What is the public health problem you are addressing and why is it important? Response limited to 400 words.

Section B: Provide a summary of your previous research experience. Particularly useful would be a summary of a completed project that has been submitted for publication or has been published. Response limited to 400 words.

Section C: Provide a summary of your previous formal educational activities. If you have participated in a degree program in addition to a doctorate degree, please provide a brief description of the program’s objectives. If you have taken previous formal course work relevant to clinical and translational research, provide a brief description of each course. Response limited to 200 words.

Section D: Provide an overview of your short-term and long-term career goals and outline any gaps in your training. Detail how you plan to address these gaps, including at least two specific Education and Training Goals you plan to achieve through the K12 award. For each specific Education and Training Goal, include which of your mentor(s) will supervise the activity, as well as any specific courses, conferences and/or other training opportunities you have identified. Responses limited to 400 words.

Section E: Please provide a general outline of the research project in which you will participate during the tenure of your involvement in the K12 Training Award program. Please provide as much detail as possible within the word limit, including background/significance, hypothesis, specific aims, methods, statistics, and potential pitfalls. Response limited to 1,250 words. Up to a total of four tables/figures may be included.

Section F: What were the reasons for your mentor selection(s)? Responses limited to 150 words.

Section G: Please include a brief statement on the clinical translational significance of your research project. Responses limited to 100 words.

Please be sure to adhere to the word count for each of the Research Proposal sections. Circumventing the word limit by using lengthy figure legends and similar strategies is highly discouraged and may adversely affect your chances of funding.

Lastly, please save a PDF copy of your completed file as follows: LastName_Research Proposal.

You will be asked to upload this file as part of your online application. Please have the completed file ready when you begin the application process.

Applicants will be asked to provide the following information as part of the online application for each of their endorsers (Division Chief/Department Chair, Primary Mentor, and optional Secondary Mentor):

• Name
• Email Address
• Primary institution
• Department/Division

Once you submit your application, the individuals listed in the “Endorsement Information” section of the online application will automatically receive an e-mail with instructions on how to submit their endorsements and materials. Please ensure that the contact information you provide is correct and current.

Please also be sure to inform your endorsers after you have submitted your application so that they know to expect an e-mail from the program and are prepared to submit their attestations and/or letters in a timely manner. These attestations and letters must be received by 6:00pm EST on April 4, 2025. Please note that endorsers and letter writers will not have access to your application materials, and you will not have access to their letters.

Reviewers will assess whether the mentorship letters express commitment to advancing the mentee’s research project, research training and research career, and the likelihood that the program will meet the candidate’s career goals. Additional information with respect to reviewer criteria for these letters is included in the following sections.

The Division Chief / Department Chair identified in the “Endorsement Information” section of the application will be asked to submit an attestation guaranteeing 75% of protected time (or less if applicable, e.g. for surgeons requesting less effort per NIH rules) through the duration of the K12 Training Award for the applicant to pursue the education and research goals of the program, with the remaining percent effort being devoted to an appropriate balance of research, teaching, administrative, and clinical responsibilities. This attestation will be made available online and a link will automatically be sent when the application is submitted.

Please note that, unlike in prior years, we will not be requiring a formal letter from division chiefs / department chairs. Only the online attestation is necessary.

The Primary Mentor identified in the “Endorsement Information” section of the application will be asked to submit a signed letter of recommendation on institutional letterhead and in PDF format. This letter must attest that the remaining salary support (not provided by Harvard Catalyst) will come from a non-federal source through the duration of the K12 Training Award.

Application reviewers will be looking for the following:

1. Is there clear commitment of the Primary Mentor to ensure that the remaining salary support (not provided by Harvard Catalyst) will come from a non-federal source through the duration of the K12 Training Award?
2. Is there a clear commitment and plan on the part of the mentor to advance the mentee’s research project, research training and research career?
3. Are there adequate plans for monitoring and evaluating the candidate’s research and career development progress?
4. Are the Primary Mentor’s research qualifications in the area of the proposed research appropriate?
5. Does the Primary Mentor adequately address the candidate’s potential and their strengths?

The Primary Mentor will also be asked to upload a Biographical Sketch (also referred to as a “biosketch”) utilizing the most recent NIH format.

Please save a PDF copy of your completed files as follows: LastName_1M_Letter and LastName_Biosketch.

Lastly, Primary Mentors will be asked to submit an attestation with respect to mentor-specific training. Two options will be made available:

1. The mentor has already completed mentor training via the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), which is now offered through Harvard, or through an equivalent mechanism such as the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN).
2. Within the first year of the award period, the mentor will complete mentor training via the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), which is now offered through Harvard, or through an equivalent mechanism such as the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN).

If desired, applicants may include a letter from a Secondary Mentor. If so, the Secondary Mentor identified in the “Endorsement Information” section of the application will be asked to submit a signed letter of recommendation on institutional letterhead and in PDF format. The review criteria for this letter are the same as those for the Primary Mentor.

Please save a PDF copy of your completed file as follows: LastName_2M_Letter

Secondary Mentors will be asked to submit an attestation with respect to mentor-specific training. Two options will be made available:

1. The mentor has already completed mentor training via the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), which is now offered through Harvard, or through an equivalent mechanism such as the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN).
2. Within the first year of the award period, the mentor will complete mentor training via the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), which is now offered through Harvard, or through an equivalent mechanism such as the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN).

Completed applications must be submitted by 6:00pm ET on Friday, March 21, 2025.

Endorsement materials, which include online attestations from Division Chiefs / Department Chairs as well as letters and attestations from Primary / Secondary Mentors, must be submitted by 6:00pm ET on Friday, April 4, 2025.

If you require any assistance or accommodations with your application preparation and submission, please e-mail K12Application@catalyst.harvard.edu and the team will be glad to assist you.

Completed applications submitted by 6:00pm EST on March 21, 2025 with all required endorsements submitted by 6:00pm EST on April 4, 2025, will be assigned reviewers.

The review process will occur from early April through the middle of May. Funding decisions will be issued by the end of May.

Please note that there will be no interviews for this application cycle.

All applicants will be notified of funding decisions via email, which will be the primary mode of communication.

Graphics and citations are not counted against the application’s overall word count. We do ask, however, that you consider the reviewers’ time when writing your application. Please keep all graphics, citations, etc. to a minimum. Circumventing the word limit by using lengthy figure legends and similar strategies is highly discouraged.

No budget or budget justification is required.

Graphics and citations are not counted against the application’s overall word count. We do ask, however, that you consider the reviewers’ time when writing your application. Please keep all graphics, citations, etc. to a minimum. Circumventing the word limit by using lengthy figure legends and similar strategies is highly discouraged.

This is a firm rule that cannot be waived. The K12 Training Award is an early-career investigator grant. The three-year limit will include appointments at all previous and current institutions. If the third year of your first faculty appointment ends on or before September 30, 2025, your application will not be considered. Time spent on a formal leave (personal, parental, medical, etc.) does not count as part of an appointment period. If you believe this circumstance may be relevant to your application, please e-mail us for guidance and instructions.

When completing your Statement of Intent (SOI), you may include the following details:

Period of Performance: 2 years (10/1/2025 through 9/30/2027)

Prime Site: Harvard Medical School (HMS)

Prime PI: Karen K. Miller, MD

Direct Cost Total per Year:

• 75% of Salary Base up to the NIH Cap of $160,000 (i.e., 75% of up to $160,000, a maximum of $120,000 per year)
• Applicable Fringe Benefits
• Indirect costs (or F&A) of 8%
• $10,000 in Research Support